Somewhere Unexpected
by rangas rule
Summary: Zhao always had a plan, he was always prepared for the unexpected, and even in death he remained cool, calm and collected. But when his expectations of death disappoint him, he finds himself in an unexpected place, playing a game of kill or be killed
1. Chapter 1

Ok so I just rewatched the first season of avatar the last air bender for the millionth time and I started to think of a possible side story after Admirable Zhao is taken by the water spirit whilst dueling Zuko. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking 'I bet he's not dead!' always expecting him to pop up later in the next seasons to harass Aang and the gang. Needless to say he doesn't. But overall it got me thinking as to what actually happened to Zhao after he was taken by the water spirit, did he die? Was he taken somewhere else and tortured by the fish that sought revenge? Don't get me wrong, Admirable Zhao is not my first pick of characters id like to write about, I think he's an absolute arse and definitely got what was coming to him. But his side story was too good to pass up, and I always loved the idea that he ended up somewhere unexpected. So without further ado here it is, please be kind. Oh and constructional criticism is welcome.

Prologue

The room in which he sat was cold and damp. He could hear a faint drip somewhere down the long dark corridors and the light in which he read flickered annoyingly. Despite the many things that would have once distracted him and driven him insane, General Zhao sat on the edge of his seat in hard concentration pouring over encyclopedia's and pages of pages of ancient Water tribe secrets.

His stumbling over this library was sheer luck and pure genius Zhao thought as he silently chuckled to himself. Not only had he discovered long lost traits about the water tribe he figured that only half of water benders even knew, but he had also discovered that when they were most vulnerable and most powerful. This is exactly the information that would come in handy when the siege of Ba Sing Se was over and they focused all the fire nations' military on the water nation.

From what he had last heard General Iroh's siege was going according to plan, they had almost made it through the wall, with the help of his son Lu Ten they were an unstoppable force.

Zhao chuckled again. What a foolish bird for letting me in here. There were aisles and aisles of information on all four nations. He'd spent more than 5 hours on the earth nation alone, 2 on the extinct air nation (but mainly just searching for some hidden information about the long lost avatar), but much to his displeasure he'd walked away with a few bits of useless information. He'd now been the water nation section for 7 hours and had found countless bits of information that he could and would use against them in the future impending battle. Once they had secured Ba Sing Se and obliterated the earth nations spirits to ruble they would close in on the water nation with an unstoppable force that made Zhao so proud to be apart of the mighty fire nation.

Zhao put down the papers that he was holding and had a long stretch and rubbed his tired eyes. He was sure his army battalion would soon be getting worried about his whereabouts, he had told them all to remain just inside the building ready to leave at the drop of a hat. The large owl that had identified himself as Wan Shi Tong was extremely pleased to have a visitor who was as highly intelligent as Zhao, though he couldn't speak very highly of the wing nuts in his battalion. Wan Shi Tong gave him the grand tour and Zhao was the perfect guest, he listened intently and was very well mannered, he had played Wan Shi Tong like a harp. General Zhao was very surprised that a creature from the spirit world could be so easily fooled.

General Zhao placed some more information in his already full sack. Pleased with the progress he had made today Zhao made to leave only to notice something he hadn't noticed before. Zhao pulled the large book off the shelf and flicked through a few of its pages.

General Zhao's eyes widened as he read the following passage.

"_Thousands of years ago, La and Tui decided to leave the spirit realm and take up mortal forms in the physical realm to benefit mankind. Both spirits resided along with the people of the northern water tribe, aiding them in the quests and endeavors into the unknown of water bending. The moon was the first water bender and taught the people to push and pull the currents. The people of the water pull their strength from the spirit of the moon, but their life from the spirit of the water. Both Tui and La work together to create balance as La means to pull and Tui means to push, highly resembling that of yin and yang…"_

Zhao stopped reading as the severity of this passage sank in.

'If the water nation took their strength from the moon and the moon spirit had taken a physical form it could easily be eliminated therefore rendering all waterbender's completely and utterly powerless' Zhao mused

The generals smiled increased wider as he read on and managed to locate the where about of these two spirits and the forms they took. Today was a very good day indeed.

Zhao walked down the aisle whistling a merry little tune. Nothing could bring him down off the high perch in which he now sat. He was going to be in history books as the conqueror of the moon, destroyer of the water Nation. He liked that title as he said it over and over in his head. The general quickened his pace eager now to leave the library.

Zhao pulled up suddenly when he caught sight of the fire nation's part of the library. He peered down the dimly lit corridors holding up his torch to see how far it went. A wicked notion started to formulate in his head and he suddenly pulled himself away and headed towards the exit hoping to avoid Wan Shi Tong and getting caught with stolen literature.

Zhao caught sight of his battalion all sitting looking bored at the entrance. One of the men, the one Zhao had placed in charge till he had returned stood up and saluted the general.

'At ease captain Jin' General Zhao said saluting the captain back.

'sorry to keep you all waiting' Zhao said looking around his battalion of men who were all now standing waiting for his next order.

'I have discovered an inconvenience that could place the fire nation state of secrecy in jeopardy. If any of the other nations came in here they could easily infiltrate the fire lord's master plan for the future. I need you to destroy the part of the library that house's all information on the fire nation' Zhao commanded his troops

His troops almost immediately ran off to the direction that he came from. Zhao smirked and walked out of the library and into the harsh elements of the desert.

Ok well that is the first chapter, the next one will make more sense I hope, this is only the prologue and I know its boring information but I need to get it out of the way now before I begin the fun stuff. Anyway please R&R if you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N ok so this chapter took me forever to write. I have three completely different drafts for this chapter but none of them worked out how I wished, eventually I got it right. I have done a lot of thinking on how I want this story to continue. This chapter is in the past and the present, but the next chapter will be the future, I know it's a bit dull and probably confusing, but I wanted to establish a more personal reason for Zhao's murder of the moon spirit. I swear the next chap will be more interesting.

Proclaimer- I do not own anything from avatar.

_Revenge is a poison meant for others that we take ourselves. _

No one could hear him scream, no one could save him now. Water filled his lungs and crept into every crevasse. His body was stiff, and yet he had no control over it as he involuntarily heaved and spluttered.

For as long as he could remember he had always hated the water! The ever changing tides, the inconsistency, the submission! It was against everything he was about! He, Admiral Zhao was fearless, feared, hated, dominant, and relentless! Routine and discipline were his teachers; strength and power were his friends. But the water, no. the water was his enemy, one he hated to his core and yet sadly envied. Water was his weakness, his punisher, his killer.

As a boy, Zhao and his bother used to live by the ocean with their father and mother. His father was the captain of one of the Firelord's command ships and was often away at sea for most of the year.

When Zhao was six years old, his father had taken him and his younger brother out fishing on his boat. He and his brother had been out on their fathers expertly crafted fishing boat a many a times. It was the one thing Zhao had cherished the most of his childhood, spending time with his brother and father. Little did he know that this particular day held tragedy?

Zhao could remember choking and gasping for air, and yet completely unable to suffice the need of his lungs. His father's boat had capsized due to a rogue wave that had come out from nowhere. The boat had pinned he and his brother beneath the bow, rendering them completely helpless.

As Zhao fought to reach his brother he felt strain against his collar as he was pulled out from under the boat and up to the surface, all the while watching his brother struggle with the boat sail that he was tangled in.

The younger Zhao held onto the upturned boat for dear life as he watched his father dive back under for his brother.

He waited and waited, as the seconds became minutes, but no sight of his father and brother surfaced. The minutes soon turned into hours still holding up hope that his father and brother would rise up from their watery graves.

Zhao was out on the water alone on a sinking upturned boat for three days before help came. In that time, he had lost his father and brother, succumbed to intense hunger and thirst pains, and been stalked by sharks.

It never left his mind; the water had haunted him like a ghost from that day on. It was only natural that his worst fear would eventually swallow him up. Zhao vowed from that day, that he would get his revenge against the water that had taken his beloved sibling and idol. How, he did not know, but one day , he would hurt the ocean and make it experience the pain he had felt.

And now it hurt to breathe. Each time Zhao inhaled it felt like large spikes were driving themselves through his chest. His whole body ached from the cold water that suppressed him, his insides threatening to push out from every orifice. He had had his sweet revenge, but instead of feeling elated, proud and accomplished he felt empty and lost. The anger that had consumed him for majority of his life, that had driven him to this day had left him.

The anger had gone and yet there was no satisfaction. He had waited for this moment, and it had blown up in his face. He should of known the water would defeat him. Revenge is a continuous act until there is none left to seek it. Zhao wondered if he would be avenged.

He sank deeper and deeper as if he were made of heavy rock. He was no longer buoyant, nor was his skin plump and pink, but instead hard, heavy and blue.

He could feel cracking and sharp pains within his barrel shaped chest. He suspected that his ribs were breaking under the heavy pressure of the water.

The once infamous admiral drew in his last breath of unsatisfying water and hung peacefully suspended in time. He now understood the pain of his lost loved ones and what they had endured.

Zhao welcomed the silence of his water catacomb. If this was death, he liked it.

R.R please. And thank you to the one review from last chapter.


End file.
